Darker Shades Than Black
by Pile of Manga
Summary: -Sequel:Pulled Into Colour- Now settled in the anime world, Kinou finds more problems to deal with now that Seto has the Millennium Rod... she must find a way to pull him out of the darkness consuming him before history repeats and puts her in danger...
1. Waking Into A Dream

Alright I finally decided to post the first chapter of my sequel, reguardless of the fact that I haven't gotten past chapter 5 in the past few months xD. Everyone thank the annonymous reviewer who said that they printed out Pulled Into Colour because they liked it so much; that convinced me to start posting =]. ::glomps reviewer:: So, without further ado, here is Darker Shades Than Black! As the title suggests, this story is quite a bit darker than the first and it also has some lemon sprinkled in, hence the rating .;;. Arigato gozaimasu to everyone who loved Pulled Into Colour, I hope you will enjoy this one just as much! 

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**1. Waking Into A Dream**

Kinou slowly opened her eyes to see some bright pink sunlight peeping in through some open windows in the master bedroom she now slept in. She tried to sit up, stretching, but failed miserably—something was holding her down. She glanced down to her right to see Seto Kaiba with his arm wrapped protectively around her waist, fast asleep. Smiling warmly, she kissed his nose lightly before gently lifting his arm off her and getting up, picking up her rag doll cat, Emily. The bathroom was across the room, so she slipped a silk robe over her short nightdress, yawning, before walking over to it, somewhat slouching. As she stepped in front of the mirror, placed Emily on the counter, and peered at herself, she was amazed at how dishevelled she looked that morning. Her dirty blonde hair stuck up in almost every direction, though it was still pinned up by her hair tie, and her bow was lopsided. A two-inch scar stuck out like a sore thumb across her right cheek, though it had gradually been turning the colour of her skin, making it slightly less noticeable. Dark circles were evident underneath her golden eyes, as always, but they were slowly beginning to fade away as the days passed, for she was able to rest comfortably for as long as she wanted. _And with Seto there it makes it that much nicer,_ she thought to herself. She cast around for a brush and found one neatly arranged beside other beauty supplies—most of which were unopened. As she pulled out her hair tie and started brushing her hair back into its natural state, she left her bangs out of it to hang freely, framing her face. After putting her hair tie in once again, she carefully retied the red and blue ribbon around it in a bow once more. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she walked out of the bathroom, tying the robe around herself so that she would at least look half-decent at the breakfast table downstairs. Her cat, of course, went in the pocket on the right side of the robe.

It was only about 7:30 in the morning and Kinou was still extremely tired. Suppressing a yawn, she looked around the kitchen, completely deserted except for her.

_I should go back to bed, _she thought tiredly.

_You know what'll happen when you do that._

_Welcome back, my goody two shoes other state of mind,_ sighed Kinou mentally. _What words of wisdom will you provide me with today?_

_ You know that if you go back to bed, you won't be able to fall asleep again._

_ Yes, you know-it-all, I'm well aware of that. But I think it'd be a good idea. Seto hates it when I'm not there when he wakes up; you know that. Not to mention none of the servants are awake yet to make me those really good pancakes…_Her stomach gave an oddly loud and obnoxious growl. _Well, maybe I'll have a bowl of cereal first just to calm _that_ down…_

She walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled it open with a noisy creak. Sadly, there were no boxes of her favourite cereal, so she went with a box that looked like it had corn flake-like contents. As she poured it out, she yawned once more and closed up the box with only about half the bowl filled. She rubbed her eyes as she walked over to the refrigerator and got the milk out, but stopped when she saw a little short, black-haired someone out in the hall, apparently trying to sneak by. Grinning, she put the milk on the counter and creeped after him, not making a noise. As she stepped after him, the floor creaked and he whirled around just in time to see her pounce on him and pin him to the floor.

Kinou stared him straight in the eyes with mock accusation in her voice. "Where do you think you're going, Mokie?"

The younger Kaiba brother blinked and tried to look innocently up at her with his bright blue eyes. "Nothing, just going to the bathroom is all," he said sweetly, his voice matching the cloud-covered sleep ware he was dressed in.

"Sure you were," said Kinou, and she suddenly took her hands off his hands to tickle his sides; he gasped out in laughter and tried to wrap his arms about his waist to keep her from getting to it, but she knew every trick in the book to keep him laughing for nearly two minutes before she finally stopped and sat up on him. "I've been here for about two months, Mokie, I think I know you well enough to know that you're not the type to sneak to the bathroom this early. You're usually running to it."

Mokuba blushed, becoming even more red than he already was from being tickled so much. "I'm not saying anything."

"Not yet you aren't," said Kinou, grinning widely. She raised her hands once more, getting ready to tickle the life out of him, and he put his hands out in front of him.

"No wait! Not again! I'll talk!"

Kinou instead folded her arms and glared down at him. "Yes? What would you like to say, mortal?" she mocked. "Were you going to wake up Seto so that I could get in trouble?"

Mokuba clamped his mouth shut as a shadow passed over Kinou and she looked up to see Kaiba in his robe, complete with messy morning hair. She gave a small laugh and stood up, pretending to dust herself off. "Good morning, your high priestness," she said, giving a low bow to him.

"Better not do that; I can see straight down your nightie," he said, sneering.

She kept her head down in her half-curtsey. "You say that as though it were a bad thing."

"Mokuba, go find something to do," said the CEO, and Mokuba obediently left, grinning, for he knew what Kaiba was likely to do when the two were alone. Kinou straightened up, smiling at Kaiba as the younger brother sped away down the hallway into a game room. He pressed her against the wall, leering over her.

"You weren't in bed this morning," he said in a tone that would have scared someone who didn't know him; Kinou had come to think of it as a sort of adorable quality.

"I know; I just got hungry." She looked up at him and ruffled his hair, messing it up more than it already was. "Does little Settykins need a teddy to guard him from the monster in the closet when his Kinou's not there?" she teased.

"I hate it when you talk to me that way," he said, tilting her chin up, reminding her without words at how much taller he was than her.

"That's why I do it, Seto; it gets your attention."

Their lips met for a moment before Kinou poked him in the stomach, causing him to give a slight squeak and release her from the pin against the wall. She laughed at how much Seto let his guard down to reveal his softer side when she was around and went back to start pouring her milk into the cereal bowl. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, his breath going past her ear.

"You know I hate it when you do that, too, Kinou."

_No you don't, _thought Kinou to herself. "Go get dressed, Seto."

He brushed a soft kiss on her ear before walking out of the kitchen once more, and she watched him leave, still slightly bewildered at how sexy he was even when he was in complete disarray. She sighed, pouring the milk half-heartedly into the bowl, wanting to follow him and reveal the huge wave of desire she was so suddenly overcome with. As she put the milk back, Mokuba came waltzing back in, a half-grin plastered on his face.

"I still can't figure out how you make him do that," he said, sitting across from her at the table as she started to eat.

"Do what?" asked Kinou unconcernedly, delicately tipping most of the milk out of the spoon before taking a bite.

He rolled his eyes. "Squeak."

She shrugged. "I don't know, really. I guess I've been tickled so much in my lifetime I've come to have a sixth sense about where other people's ticklish points are."

"Seto's not ticklish," said Mokuba confidently. "You probably just surprise him when you do it."

"Oh, you have no idea," smirked Kinou, looking mischievously at him. "If that's the case, I scare him about three times a night."

Mokuba's mouth dropped open; he looked completely bewildered. "You don't mean…" he turned rather red as he struggled to find the right words.

Kinou laughed. "No we haven't," she said. "…yet."

A wide grin spread across his face. "That's disgusting."

She simply shrugged and continued to eat her small bowl of cereal. They sat in silence for a few moments before Mokuba picked up a small napkin from the table and start to wring it in his hands slightly, reminding Kinou of the first time she had met him when he had tried to tell her something of grand importance. She swallowed a mouthful of cereal.

"Do I dare to ask what it is this time?" she asked, pushing her bowl aside and leaning forward slightly.

Mokuba looked at her, but this time his eyes displayed hesitance; he took in a breath before he spoke. "Can I ask you about…. The other world?"

"You mean where I came from? Sure, why not," said Kinou, slightly relieved that he didn't bring up something foreboding that had jumped into her mind when she saw his face.

His face brightened considerably and he put the napkin down. "Cool; I wasn't sure whether you'd want to talk about it, considering how long you've been gone, you know."

"It's fine," said Kinou, smiling. "It's really not that great; personally I like it better here."

"Don't you miss your friends and family?"

"Not really," said Kinou, going and getting two glasses and a carton of orange juice, pouring them a glass each. "I'm kinda glad I got away from it all. I'm pretty anti-social, really. I didn't have many friends, but the ones I did have were really close to me, and my family is a big mix of cultures; it's really confusing and frustrating trying to remember where everyone is and what religion they are and everything. Though most are extremely conservative Christians and drive me nuts…"

"But it must be really cool to have no evil guys trying to take over the world," he pressed, leaning forward, ignoring his juice.

Kinou laughed rather loudly. "Are you kidding? The bad guys in my world may not have Millennium Items, but they sure as hell can be evil when they want to."

And with that, they continued their conversation until the sun had risen completely and flooded the kitchen with a blinding sunlight, reflecting rainbows off of the many glass plates in the cabinets, on reserve for very special occasions. Kinou put her glass down, almost empty, after giving a long and detailed explanation of how duel monsters was played in her world.

Mokuba looked shocked. "You mean there are no holograms or anything?" Kinou shook her head. "Not even duel disks?" She nodded slightly, taking the last sip from her glass. "You do? That's good!" said the younger boy, looking much happier.

"Plastic," said Kinou simply, instantly wiping the smile off his face. "Face it, I'm staying here and there's nothing you can do about it," said Kinou, and Mokuba laughed.

"How will I ever survive? I'll just ask Seto to save me from you."

"Speaking of Seto," said Kinou, suddenly distracted. "Where is he? I know his outfit isn't exactly the easiest thing to get into, but he's been gone for a really long time…"

"He probably just went back to working before eating," sighed the Kaiba brother. "He always does that."

"Still…" murmured Kinou, getting up. Mokuba shrugged and started walking in the opposite direction, towards his bedroom.

"I'm gonna get dressed; me and some friends are meeting at Kaiba Land later to duel. With _holograms_," he added nastily before Kinou made a rude gesture at him, causing him to snigger and leave.

Kinou began walking towards the master bedroom, her feeling of insecurity growing with each passing step. _I really hope he's not focused on the Millennium Rod again; whenever he does, it's like someone else is there and it scares me. Ok, calm down; Mokie's probably right. He's just at work…_ She had reached the door into the bedroom, and she pushed it open slightly, peering in.

No one was in sight, and she breathed a sigh of relief, taking a few steps into the room. She stopped, however, upon seeing that the Millennium Rod was not in its glass case on a small table as it usually was. Right as fear began to creep back into her stomach, she felt movement behind her and someone closed the door with a snap. She whirled around to see Seto leering at her, now fully dressed, but something was not right about him as he straightened up and fixed her with a piercing stare, his mouth twisting into a cruel smile. She stood, frozen to her spot with fear; as he came towards her, she sensed an evil far beyond anything she had ever felt before.

"Hello, Anji."

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Ha ha! Nasty cliffie at the end of the first chapter! Bwaha. I vow to start trying to push past my four-month Writer's Block on this thing so that you all won't have to wait to read =]. Reviews will certainly help speed it along! Arigato again!


	2. Darkness Emerges with Memories

Wow, I got a few well-thought out reviews for the first chapter =]. I'll take the time to respond to a few, since you all took the time to write them, ha ha.

**Blue Moon Wolf- **I know how long you've been waiting, bwaha…. But don't get your parents mad at you if you print it off as well it's much easier to copy just the story and condense it and go to Kinko's. I printed the whole thing off for something like $5. Anyway! I'm glad you're liking it so far!

**Jon-** Gods, that had to be the longest review in the history of fanfiction =} arigato.  Pulled Into Colour did end with Marik dying and nothing was really happening, but if you go reread the first chapter, Kinou mentions that she's been there several months already, so that's time for stuff to happen.  And yeah, where Mokuba was going wasn't too clear, nor did I mean for it to be. Use your imagination :p. And you will be seeing a fic without Yugi here. I'm sorry, but he's just too annoying and not really necessary for the plot I have worked out. There are a few more characters from YGO that I will be using, however, you'll just have to read and find out who they are . And there's no way I'm putting in a Duel Monsters tournament; I can't duel worth squat and if I try to get my brother to help me write it, I'll go nuts. Thanks for the suggestion though .  And just for you I'll draw Seto in his dishevelled state with Kinou poking him, heh. And thanks again for writing so much!

**Goddesskali- **0o whoa, two squeals; thanks for the compliment!

**Dragons of Life/YugiFreak- **Glad to know you guys are sticking with it and reviewing

You all make me happy! Ok, onto the next chapter! Warning—this does have some slight lemon in it! Hope you enjoy reading!

**2. Darkness Emerges with Memories**

                Kinou blinked and stared up at him, confused, for he had never spoken to her when he was in one of his trances before, and he had called her Anji. "Seto?" she asked, peering into his face. His azure eyes had gone a dark, violent shade of purple and made her feel like he was piercing her deep within her soul.

                "I'm not Seto," he growled, following her as she took a hesitant step backwards.

                "Who are you?"

                He laughed. "From watching through his eyes you seemed to be a relatively intelligent girl, but I suppose I was wrong. Do you really need that much of a hint?" He raised his arm, manifesting the Millennium Rod, now aglow with a radiant energy.

                "The spirit of the Rod?" she whispered. "I suspected as much, but why have you taken over Seto? What has he ever done?"

                "I have not taken over him to punish him, though he shall pay a hefty price for what he did to me in ancient Egypt. You're the reason I've come."

                "Why me? I wasn't even around back then, not even in the same dimension!" said Kinou, thoroughly frightened.

                "You are quite mistaken, little girl. I know you more than you could possibly imagine. And we'll have no more of that," he said, as she backed away from him even further. He aimed the Rod at her and she felt a freezing sensation as she lost all of her ability to move; seconds later, he swooped her into his arms as her body went limp. He carried her back to the bed as she helplessly looked back at him, hoping that Kaiba would have the strength to come back before anything horrible happened to her.

                He laid her on the bed, crawled on top of her, and continued speaking from his position on her waist. "I know you even more intimately than my hikari himself. I can't even begin to remember how many times my hands had travelled over your delicious body…" He untied her robe and started trailing his fingers over her thin nightdress, following her curves with delicate strokes. "Ah, how much I have missed you, Anji…"

                "Stop it," said Kinou, yearning to shrink away from his touch.

                He leaned closer to her until his face was mere centimetres from hers and whispered, "You used to say that all the time to me; what makes you think it will make any difference now?" He closed the small gap between them and kissed her, his tongue sliding into her mouth without permission as she closed her eyes, trying to block him out completely, tears streaming down her cheeks as she pleaded that Seto would come back. His hands still roamed her body and found their way to her legs; he pulled them up as he settled himself between them and she let out a whimper as she felt his arousal, only separated from her by a few layers of clothing. Slowly, keeping his lips connected with hers, he started to lift up her nightdress, putting his hands underneath it to caress her breasts.

                Kinou could not take it anymore and pushed his tongue out of her mouth and screamed, "Seto STOP!"

                And he indeed did stop, completely frozen above her, though as she opened her eyes, she could plainly see a small battle going on inside his head. Suddenly, Seto blinked and she felt the aura of evil leave completely as she regained control of her body. He looked down at her, shocked at the frightened, helpless expression on her face; he realised where his hands were and got off her immediately, stumbling slightly as he clambered off the bed; his face had gone rather pale as he watched her sit up shakily and pull her robe about her once more.

                "Kinou—I—I—" He faltered as she kept her arms wrapped about herself and stared back at him with a strong plea in her eyes. His mouth was slightly open as he gazed at the Rod, now on the floor beside the bed, and then at his hands, as though he couldn't come to grips with what had just happened.

                "Please listen to me, Seto," said Kinou, not once letting her eyes wander from his face. He looked back at her, his face still pallid. "Please, let's go to Ishizu like I had asked the first time you acted like that. I know it wasn't a big deal before, since you were just looking at the Rod, but this time I almost got hurt by him… please Seto, we need a way to get rid of him… I can't sleep peacefully at night knowing that you could go and pick it up at any time and be transformed into someone like that… please…"

                Seto closed his mouth and nodded slightly, though he still looked genuinely frightened. "We'll go and see her after breakfast, I promise," he said, his voice wavering. Kinou nodded and he put a hand to his face as he walked out and shut the door without a backward glance. Kinou couldn't help but feel more sorry for him than she did for herself as Marik's words filled her mind: _"__You have obviously not experienced the terrors of having a darker half…"_

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                Breakfast was eaten in almost complete silence, and the CEO never looked her in the eye as they made their way to the limousine going to the Domino Museum. She could tell he was not pleased about going there, but something told her that he was forcing himself to for her sake; she did not dare to ask. The ride there was just as quiet, Kinou staring out the window as she was accustomed to do whenever she was in a moving object, and Seto only spoke to tell the driver when to come and get them as they stepped out of the limo. As they ascended the stairs, Kinou unconsciously put her hand in her front left pocket to grasp Emily with a somewhat sweaty palm. The CEO still did not look at her; he only looked up at the top of the stairs with a scowl, his skeptical feelings etched into every muscle in his clenched jaw. She knew how much he disliked Ishizu, but this was the only way they could find out about the Millennium Rod, and she could see him kicking himself on the inside for letting her bring him there. As Kinou suspected, the mysterious Egyptian was waiting for them right on the inside of the front doors and bade them good morning before having them escorted into a private room. She sat down across from them in an ancient-looking chair that looked like the gold coating was all that was keeping it from collapsing underneath her.

Her dark blue eyes were shining out at them, completely the opposite of her sleek black hair, a thin golden head dress intertwined at the front of it.

                "I have been expecting you for quite some time," she said. _I already knew that you were, _sighed Kinou mentally, having seen her greet people this way every single time they had come to her for advice. She noticed that Ishizu now had the Millennium Necklace once more around her neck and gave her a quizzical look.

                "Why do you have that? I thought you gave it to Yugi ages ago because it no longer possessed its power," she said.

                The Egyptian bowed her head solemnly. "I did give it to the chosen one, yes, but I received it much later on when both of us knew I would need it back for various reasons."

                "Us being one of them?" scoffed Kaiba, sitting with his arms and legs crossed next to Kinou.

                She nodded again and continued. "Though it does not allow me to see the future anymore, it can still show the past, and that is precisely what you and Kaiba need to do to find out about his item."

                Kinou edged to the front of her seat, ready for anything, but Kaiba put his hand on her shoulder and leaned forward as well, glaring at Ishizu. "We don't want any cheap tricks, Ishizu. If you mess with either of our heads I'll be sure to shut this place down and send you back to where you came from."

                "Seto," said Kinou warningly; he glanced at her, then took his hand off her shoulder as he looked back at Ishizu, who looked as calm as ever.

                "There will be no trickery involved, High Priest. I will only show you truth, though I will require your help to do so."

                Seto growled at being called "high priest", but he kept his mouth shut and sat back, indicating somewhat that he was willing to only go so far, but somewhat willing all the same. Ishizu leaned forward and looked straight into his eyes as the Millennium Necklace began to glow.

                "I need you to start by simply recalling every flashback you have ever had from your past, Kaiba. I will watch from afar, but I will see what you see, and when the I say so, stop and focus on one particular memory."

                Seto rolled his eyes and then sat forward, closing them. Kinou could only watch as Ishizu closed her eyes as well, and both sat in silence for a long time, Kaiba occasionally grimacing as floods of memories invaded his mind, Ishizu's expression remaining blank and nonexpressant.  Suddenly, Ishizu shifted in her seat and touched Seto's hand.

                "There! Stop!"

                Kaiba jerked his hand away from hers and opened his eyes. "Why that one?" he asked, sounding angry.

                "What? Which one?" Kinou implored, looking between the both of them.

                Seto turned to her. "The vision of 'me' holding a dead girl in my arms, kneeling in front of my Blue-Eyes White Dragon tablet."

                Kinou looked over at Ishizu as she opened her eyes and stared placidly back. "Yeah, why that one?"

                "You will see, Anji, you will see," she replied.

                "Why did you call me Anji?" said Kinou, angered as well. "My name is Kinou; the only other person who has called me that was the spirit of the Rod—" Her eyes went wide. "You mean… I _do_ have a past in Egypt?"

                The woman bowed her head, and Seto shook his. "She's crazy, Kinou, let's just get out of here…" Kinou looked over at him pleadingly, and he gave a heavy sigh. "Fine, we'll waste our time on this lunatic. Then will you come home?" Kinou nodded, and Ishizu held out her hands.

                "I will now take you both into the past; join your hands with mine and with each other's and we will travel back to Ancient Egypt together."

                The CEO looked thoroughly annoyed and thrust out his hand towards Ishizu, gently taking Kinou's hand in the other. Kinou placed her hand gingerly in Ishizu's as she grasped Seto's hand; Ishizu held both of their hands in a surprisingly strong grip and closed her eyes. Seto and Kinou followed suit.

                "Let us begin," said the Egyptian, and they were suddenly blinded by a bright light as their minds were pulled along a whirl of colour and noise.

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Hah, ok, well I've made about two sentences further in chapter 4(it was chapter 5, till I realised that chapters 2 and 3 were too short, so I smushed 'em into this one xD); the Writer's Block is slowly but surely ebbing away! Huzzah!


	3. Lover's Quarrel

Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken me so long to update… I've written another half page in the chapter after this one! What's terrible is that I know _exactly_ what's going to happen, I just can't—get—it—out!! Gr! I will try to work my hardest to get the next chapter done soon, but I'm not guaranteeing anything since I'm also going to be working on Kiseki and The Darkness Within Me as well as going to band camp from 3-8:30 every day for the next two weeks… anywho! This chapter is pretty much my favourite so far, and there is a picture to go along with it as well, so check out the picture website when you're done reading!

**3. Lover's Quarrel**

A grand palace loomed out on the edge of a large settlement, overshadowing almost everything in the midday sun. The pyramids were in the middle of construction, workers swarming around them like little ants and desperately trying to build them as fast as they were able in the scorching heat. Even though the pyramids were far away from the palace grounds, loud yells could be heard from the work sites as slave after slave was whipped to pick up the pace. The air above the ground was extremely wavy from all of the heat radiating off the cracked and parched sand that had crusted over to form rough flatlands as far as the eye could see. A giant river ran through the village and travelled north towards Cairo, a mere speck in the distance, and there were women and young girls doing laundry beside the banks.

Upon approaching the palace, a beautiful garden loomed out, full of fresh, tended plants of all sorts, most of which were obviously not native to Egypt. A large pond cleared the middle of it, lilies of all colours floating across its surface. Magnificent trees hung gracefully over the path that wound its way through it and towards the gate of the palace, shielding the walkers from the burning sun. The stony pathway was clear of sand and free of the snaking vines that twisted their way around other plants and trees all around it.

Inside the palace, servants could be seen running around, carrying items of varying heaviness, but they all walked with the same brisk pace, never slowing down except to talk to others about various jobs they were needed to do. Suddenly, they all stopped and lined up in two neat rows as the front doors opened and a small procession of people emerged. In the middle of them walked a proud, straight-backed princess who held an elegance about her frame that made everyone around her gaze in wonder. Her flowing silk sari was as blue as the sky and accented her bright golden eyes; long, smooth legs slid out from underneath the fabric with leather sandals laced about her small and delicate feet. A golden head dress held her brown hair back from her face, her bangs left out front to fall about her lightly tanned skin. Her curves were especially noticeable because a white sash was wrapped around her midsection, hugging her form. She stepped lightly, almost gliding over the paved floor towards the main staircase in front of the doorway; she held such a powerful air about herself that those who even chanced a look at her instantly bowed their heads once more, not daring to look for a second longer.

The princess kept her eyes straight ahead, not once letting her gaze stray from the top of the stairs, where a group of people was waiting to receive her. She held up a slender hand to signal to her guards to fall back, and they did so, bowing their heads, some even clutching their weapons to themselves and muttering some vow or oath in her honour, but she did not notice their actions as she continued to walk, somewhat straighter now that she was making her way by herself. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she got closer to the small mass, as though she had laid eyes upon someone not quite to her liking. As she ascended the stairs, a beam of bright sunlight passed over her, making the little golden bird around her neck gleam out, for it was so polished that it looked like it had just been taken out of the mould and had been painted with some slick oil to protect its surface. No one uttered a word until she had stopped in front of the horde, her feet together in an almost military-like stance, looking as though she was ready for a battle.

"Where is the high priest?" she asked, giving an inquiring look at the bunch. Her voice sounded like a perfectly tuned bell, though it rang out strong and steadfast. Obviously to the members of the palace it was most unusual for a female to be so powerful, and they seemed to be afraid to respond to her. One, however, came forth and bowed deeply before her on one knee, not looking up at her as she spoke.

"Our sincere apologies, most honourable princess of the South, but he is not here. You travel with great speed, and we had not intended you to arrive so quickly. We made do with the little time we had and prepared the palace for your arrival, yet we failed to bring you the reason of your presence. We have sent several servants in search of him; we apologise for any trouble he may have caused you with his absence. He meant no disrespect to you, great one, for he is a busy man." He finished with his speech and stood up, making sure he had backed into the group before daring to raise his eyes to look at her.

She looked rather annoyed, but still held her dignity about her as she nodded to acknowledge his words. Turning back to the front doors, she held her hand up to her guards and called in her foreign tongue, "Go and wait outside, this shan't take long," and they all bowed with their right arms crossed over their chests before exiting and standing in two straight lines outside. Nearly all in the huddle of people gaped at her willingness to be completely by herself in a strange palace, but she ignored their stares and glanced around. "Ah, there he is," she said, gesturing with her hand, her arm movement as flowing as water.

Everyone turned to see a tall man approaching, his purple cape billowing out behind him as he came forward with giant strides. He was shirtless, and a large golden ankh hung around his neck to fall in the centre of his strong chest; his cape was held on by two gold clasps, which were fastened to a small piece of fabric circling his neck. His silk, tan-coloured pants were held up by a black velvet belt, his feet covered by brown slippers. Gold bands were clasped around his upper arms and neck, and even more gold shone out from his ears; they had been pierced to allow several strings of gold pieces to hang from various studs, sapphires of a deep blue set into a few of them. In his right hand he clasped the Millennium Rod, which shone with its own light, much like the princess' necklace. His eyes matched the perfect blue of the gems and stood out of the brown hair that hung slightly about his face. He was a splendour to behold, and everyone turned to bow to him except for the princess, who watched him with a curious eye as he stopped in front of her.

"I take it you are the princess I'm supposed to be expecting?" he asked. _And a stunning one at that, _he added as an afterthought to himself, but he kept his eyes from feasting upon her perfect body, keeping them fixed on her golden ones.

She raised her hand in greeting to him. "I am she; I am honoured to finally meet you, high priest, and I thank you for taking the time to help me."

He shook his head. "Save your breath, this will not take much of my time to find a solution to your problem. Follow me." With that, he headed back to where he had originally come from, the princess carefully walking respectfully behind him, a light blush in her cheeks as she watched his strong form. He turned his head to the side to glare at all the inhabitants, who were still gazing in wonder, and they immediately resumed their routines, perhaps slightly faster than before she had arrived.

They walked down a few hallways before stopping in front of two very large doors, ivory embedded into intricate designs hewn into them. The high priest pushed open the doors with a loud creak to reveal an enormous room with statues of the Egyptian gods looming from above. It was lit by hundreds of candles, as there were no windows through which the sun could shine; some were arranged in clusters in small chandeliers, others were enormous and stood in their own poles at the feet of the statues. The room was extremely well kept; the statues' polished surfaces reflected every candle that was near them, lighting up the room more effectively than the candles would have by themselves. The floor had almost no trace of sand or dirt upon it, making it easy for one to see the elegant floor design chipped into it; both pairs of feet made a soft "pit-pat" on its surface, as both had been raised to step lightly in the presence of the gods.

At the front of the room stood the largest of the statues: Ra, the god of the sun. His head was turned to the left, accenting his sharp beak and keen eyes, set with rubies the size of a fist. His left arm was crossed in front of him, claws wrapped snugly about a tall staff, while his other talons were held out to his left, opened, as though to the heavens. As the girl gazed in wonder at Him, the high priest got down on one knee with his Millennium Rod on the ground to his left, murmuring words of the deepest respect in a form of Egyptian so ancient, hardly anyone knew how to speak it but himself and the other high-ranking individuals in Egypt. He stood up and faced her, looking somewhat angered.

"Are you going to pay your respects or do I need to do it for both of us?" he asked icily.

"I… I know not how to praise Him properly as you have… I have no experience in the ancient recitals of respect… I—I fear I will anger Him if I try," she finished quietly, hoping she had not done anything wrong already.

"Ra understands all praise; you need not fear, as long as you do it," he said, coming forward and leading her to the kneeling spot, gripping her arm rather strongly.

The princess swallowed hard and carefully picked up her sari to place a bare knee upon the floor, bowing her head and uttering a poem she had learned as a child to the towering statue. When she finished, she had to force herself to open her eyes and look up, somewhat fearfully, but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no signs of vengeance. As she stood up, she heard some rustling and turned to see the high priest, now standing beside a table and flipping delicately through a thickly-bound black book, studying its pages closely.

"High priest?" she asked cautiously, clasping her hands in front of her and bringing her feet together once more, not wanting to take a closer step toward him.

His eyes darted to her, and she shifted nervously underneath his gaze; he seemed to be measuring her up with his eyes, debating about whether she was worthy enough to receive an answer. She swallowed and held her ground steady, staring right back at him with a proud air. He raised an eyebrow at her, taking her in one last time and thinking to himself.

_Interesting...she doesn't tremble or shrink for my gaze like every other low life I have set eyes upon. She has a strong soul... or she might just be defiant to authoritative figures... like a spoiled rich brat._ He kept his face straight and let his eyes fall back upon the book. "High priest is how the lower classes refer to me. My name is Seto, and I will only permit you to use it when we are not under the watch of common people."

"Why are you allowing me to call you that if you dislike anyone having knowledge of your name?" asked the girl, relaxing a little bit, but keeping her form straight.

He smirked, though keeping his gaze upon the book as he answered her. "Because I refuse to call you 'Princess' every time I speak to you. What is your real name?"

She flushed slightly. "I will not tell you my name, for only my closest acquaintances know of it; I never tell anyone what it is within the first ten minutes of meeting them."

"Then I shall make one up," Seto chuckled. "Shall I pick the name of one of the palace servants for you?" He grinned at seeing her take an angered step forward, and straightened up to look at her again, holding up his hand to tick off the names on his fingers. "We have quite a variety from which you can choose. There's... Anippe... Dalila... Niut... Kinou..." He paused on the last one, pondering it. "That shall be my name for you until you tell me the real one: Kinou."

She gritted her teeth, wanting to slap him for his immaturity, but she composed herself as she was brought up to do and walked over to the table at which he stood, folding her arms and deciding to ignore the fact that she was just given the name of a slave. "Is that the book you will be using to help my land?"

"Quite frankly, I was just looking through it out of curiosity; I need to know what you need before I come up with the solution," he said, closing the heavy book with a snap.

She closed her eyes, smirking slightly and mocking him. "First you don't bother to show up when I arrive, then you didn't bother to find out what my name is or my people's suffering before taking me in to help me? You must have been quite the disciplined one when you were in training. How long has it been since you were released from school to start practising your power?"

"My history is complicated, and I do not feel so inclined to tell it to one who chooses to disrespect me," sneered Seto, leaning forward and putting his hands on the table to look her straight in the eyes.

She laughed slightly. "By my father's grave, I would have thought that such an arrogant young man would jump on the idea of bragging about his upbringing, unless of course, it is a shameful one," she added nastily.

He growled softly, though not nearly loud enough to have her hear. "And I would have thought that such a snobbish young girl would have more sense than to pry into the life of one of the most high-ranking individuals in Egypt, one of the few who actually has had the liberty of being educated to read and write."

"Well then you obviously have not heard of me, high priest," she said, adding a somewhat sarcastic air to the last two words. "I am the only woman fortunate enough to have gone through a private tutor who taught me to do both before I was sixteen."

"A princess should know better than to claim fame to a myth. I had heard the famous story of the woman who could read and write, yet you are barely a woman; you appear to be a girl in my eyes. Besides, who would believe in that fairy tale anyway? A woman knowing how to write, how amusing."

She puffed out her chest slightly as she put her face extremely close to his. "I swear by Anedjib that you are mistaken," she hissed. "I have written on the finest papyrus made to date, while some barely even know it exists yet! I can write and read just as well as you can!" she shouted, pounding the table with her fist.

Seto smirked. "And I have written on papyrus written on by the pharaoh Semerkhet himself. He considered me like an adopted son to him because I impressed him early on in my life." He held his hand out somewhat, looking at his nails and flicking some stray grains of sand off of the table as he continued. "I went through school starting at age five, and was appointed a wab priest by the time I was fifteen. The other scholars saw me as a chosen one, thus making me a high priest when I turned eighteen. I have since then 'practised my power', as you called it, for nearly a year, and have become quite good at it if I may say so myself."

"So you are a mere nineteen years old?" the princess snickered, recovering quite fast from her shock at learning how young he was when he began rising in ranks. "Then I see no reason why I should show any form of respect to you, for you are hardly a man yet."

"I am old enough to command respect from royalty who are younger than me."

"Did I ever suggest that I am younger?" she snapped.

"No," he sneered at her. "But your manner gives you away. Granted you know the name of Semerkhet's predecessor, but you could have learned that anywhere. If I had to guess I'd say you were no more then sixteen."

"By Ra, I am seventeen!" she yelled, hitting the table with both of her fists before clapping a hand over her mouth.

Seto's face had a rather mixed look upon it as her yell echoed around the hall; it was one of anger and amusement, so his expression looked almost seductive. "You dare to cry out the name of the most powerful god in Egypt in his sanctuary just to prove your sincerity?" He moved around the table and walked right up to her to stare down into her golden eyes; she had gone rather pale and almost looked on the verge of cringing underneath his gaze. "I would say you are a brave soul to commit such a rash act, but then again you might have just been stupid. Care to inform me which one it was, Kinou?" he mocked.

"It-it was neither," stuttered the girl; she stood up straight and glared back at him, her voice becoming stronger. "I made a mistake. Nothing more."

A change overcame Seto and he suddenly wrapped his arms about her to pull her into a strong embrace, his lips connecting with hers. She let out a small yelp, her hands immediately going to his chest, as though to push him away, but as his kiss deepened, she relaxed into him, closing her eyes as she realised that she had been on the verge of kissing him as well. Her hands unclenched and one stayed on his chest while the other went to the side of his face, tangling slightly with his hair as her tongue began to caress his. They shared their passionate kiss for nearly a minute before he broke away from her, one of his hands going behind her head to tilt it up to him.

"What is your name, beautiful princess of the South?" he asked in his deepened voice, staring deep into her eyes with his now dark-purple ones.

She swallowed slightly, blinking away a small tear that had fallen from her eye.

"...Anji..."


	4. The Priest's Puppeteer

::comes running in:: MUAH! I HAVE COMPLETED CHAPTER 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::turns caps lock off:: I apologize greatly to everyone who has been anticipating this for _way_ too long :3 this week I was extremely busy, but on one of my sleepless nights, the last half of the chapter that seemed to be unfinishable hit me in the face like a brick wall and I concluded it! Thus, by process of the forces that bind me to writing, I shall begin work on this once again and hopefully update more than once a month. I hope you enjoy chapter 4!

**Chapter 4: The Priest's Puppeteer **

Another flash of light flooded the area before a large room faded into view; as the furniture became more and more clear, a figure emerged, hunched over slightly on the edge of the bed. The high priest was sitting with his head in his hands, his elbows resting upon his knees, muttering somewhat to himself. Though the room was empty except for him, another was present and speaking back to him.

"She loves me…I won't let you take that away from me," he whispered to the empty room.

A small glow appeared from Seto's body as a being separated itself from him to sit upon the bed next to him, semi-transparent and ghost-like, though almost exactly identical to its lighter carrier. "Who says I was going to take that away?" it said harshly. "All I am asking is for my share of it."

Seto jerked his head out of his hands to glare at it. "Share it? She is not some object we can split, and neither is her affection. You are dead wrong if you think she will give any over to you," he snapped.

"You say that so fiercely, as though you were trying to convince someone other than myself," said the spirit with a wide smirk.

"What in Ra's name do you mean by that?" inquired the hikari, somewhat angered.

"Simple really," it stated, shrugging its broad shoulders. "You sound as though you are unsure as to whether or not she holds me in the same light as you, perhaps even more so than you, I dare say."

"I believe no such thing," Seto nearly shouted at the spirit. "She fell in love with _me_, not—"

"She fell in love with both of us, hikari. Do bear in mind you were too much of a coward to do anything but fight against her; it was _I_ who instigated the first kiss, _I _was the one to whom she revealed her name; all she did to you was yell," it added with a smirk.

The high priest pressed his palms against his forehead once more, closing his eyes. "I swear one day I will come up with the reversal of the spell that created you... rid the world of your existence..."

The being laughed at him. "You will never be able to destroy me. You were far too young when you were experimenting with your newfound magic, and if you cannot recall the exact incantation that brought me about, I will remain. You should have been more careful when playing around with things you didn't understand."

"Be quiet, Setokku!" yelled Seto, finally naming the dark one beside him.

The spirit merely continued to snicker at him, and Seto clenched his hands to keep from grabbing the Millennium Rod and attempting to curse his yami into a thousand bits.

"I swear if you take over me and hurt her, I will send her back to her land until I find a way to lock your soul away for eternity," snarled Seto.

"I won't fully take over you, hikari, don't you worry," snickered Setokku.

Almost right on cue, there was a small knock upon the door. The yami looked at the door for a moment before tilting its head back and receding into Seto once more; a faint glow emitted from Seto's body as the being settled itself into him, and he stood up almost immediately to go to the door. Upon opening it, Anji stood before him, smiling brightly, once again in her warrior-like stance with a light blush in her cheeks. Seto smiled and stood aside for her to come in and she delicately walked through the doorway, her hands clasped in front of her, almost giving her the look of an innocent school girl.

"I have just received good news, Seto," she said, going to the window of his room and leaning against it, folding her arms as she did so.

"Oh?" He came over to stand by her side and gaze out over the desert with her.

She nodded, smiling. "The recitation you performed has lifted the plague of my people… They can all sleep soundly thanks to that." Keeping her gaze upon the endless sand, she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms about him, resting her head upon his shoulder. "I can sleep soundly thanks to that," she whispered.

He reached around her and held her to him as well, taking in her sweet scent. "I'm glad."

_We're glad…_ a voice hissed in his mind. _Indeed glad to have her so close you could just… _Seto felt his arms tighten around the girl.

_I'm warning you, _he thought back to his spirit as Anji tightened her grip on him as well, mistaking it for a loving squeeze.

_Warning me? _it asked with a hint of a laugh. _What makes you think you can do anything to me? I may take control whenever I want… you are too weak to stop me…_

His arms moved, separate from his mind, to turn Anji around to face him. Seto did not resist, worried that it would have appeared as though he were forcing himself to do the act.

"Anji…" His lips formed the words as he heard the voice in his head speaking through them. "I want you to stay here with me forever."

She blinked up at him, though a small smile found its way to her lips. "You do?" she asked in a hushed voice.

The spirit bowed his head for him and Seto watched with apprehension as her face softened, looking up into his and his spirit's eyes with the warmest look he had ever seen.

"I would love to… Seto…"

The high priest felt the spirit release his body from its hold and he nearly faltered in the gaze in which his face was set. Keeping it in place, he wrapped his arms around her again, turning his eyes to the sands again, silently cursing at the spirit now laughing darkly in his mind.

* * *

Once again a blinding light filled the vision, but before anything came into focus, noises were heard first. Sounds of raised and strained voices. It was difficult to discern what was being said at first, but they began to separate into two distinct entities, one male, one female.

"…you would even think of doing something like that!"

"I didn't, Anji, please listen to me!" The male voice was practically pleading with the first.

As the scene came into focus, Anji could be seen standing a little ways in front of the door to the same bedroom, clutching a silk robe about herself, and she looked livid. A trail of blood ran from her right cheek and down her slender neck, a cut recently made upon her soft skin. She had some smeared on her hands as well, probably from having clutched at it.

"Then what? What could you possibly tell me that would make me forgive you?" she spat at him.

"I've already said, if I tell you, you will not believe me anyway!" Seto shouted back. He held a short blade, some of Anji's blood still upon it and his hand. It was angrily tossed aside with a clatter and he took a step towards her. "Anji—"

"Don't come any closer to me!" she warned, immediately retreating closer to the door. "Dalila!" she called behind her before refocusing her eyes upon the pale priest. "I don't know what sort of sick trick you're trying to pull, high priest," she said, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "But I refuse to stay in a palace in which I cannot trust someone I have known for nearly six fortnights. Never in my life has someone attacked me, and I assure you, you will not be coming near me again."

"Anji, you aren't listening to me!" Seto shouted, getting angered.

"Don't call me by that name! You promised to protect me, high priest! This is not the first time you've done something out of the ordinary to me, but this has gone on far enough!"

Dalila timidly knocked upon the door as Seto clenched his teeth and hunched over slightly, his arms going over his head, trying to force Setokku back. Anji opened the door and the servant took a step in, gasping at the gash on her mistress' cheek.

"My lady! What happened?"

Before Anji could respond, Seto gave a loud yell of anguish, throwing his head back; he let it come back down, slightly tilted, as his eyes opened up to reveal their fierce violet color. He threw out his arm in front of him, making the door snap back shut behind Anji and the slave; they both jumped a great deal, though the princess still looked furious.

"High priest, if you think—"

"I am not the high priest," the spirit growled, keeping his place in the center of the room, the evil energy surrounding him swelling slightly.

"Be quiet." She straightened up slightly, adding to her look of defiance. "Whatever excuse you may have will not convince me that you did not intend to hurt me."

"Oh, but I did mean to hurt you, my dear princess," hissed the spirit with a slight tone of mockery. "Your high priest was not the one who so carelessly cut open your cheek. I must say…" He lifted his hand to lick a little blood off one of his fingers. "I have waited quite a while to taste a bit of you."

Anji frowned, becoming rather unsure as to whether Seto had lost his mind. She had seen him act strangely before, but never had he spoken to her in this tone of voice, and it was scaring her.

"I would very much like to have another sample," he murmured sadistically when she did not respond, taking a few long strides to her. Dalila cowered and backed into the door, but Anji remained where she was, staring up into the spirit's darkened eyes with confusion.

"Who are you?" she asked bravely.

He reached forward and gripped her chin forcefully, a twisted grin forming upon his face. "I am not one to be trifled with."

"You did not answer my question." She winced slightly at the hold he had on her.

Setokku gave a short laugh that resonated deep within his throat. "You weren't nearly this annoying as I watched through my hikari's eyes… you need to be disciplined to hold your tongue in a man's presence."

Anji jerked her chin away from his hand and glared up at him. "Be that as it may, I need not do that in your presence. You are no man… you are a demon."

The spirit responded by backhanding her sharply, causing some of the blood from her cheek to spatter onto the wall. She did not utter a sound, but her teeth clenched so hard that her jaw seized up, adding to the pain. Setokku let his hand fall to his side, turning to pick up the dropped blade and running a finger along the sharp edge, sneering at her.

"If I am a demon to you, princess, you should think twice before getting involved with someone possessed by me. I have been toying with you since the first day you met him, and you were too naïve to realize it."

Anji finally opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him. "You are what's been causing him to act out at me," she whispered angrily.

"My, we are quick-minded," he said, sarcasm etched into his words. "Though," he continued, slowly coming towards her again; his hands still restlessly played with the dagger. "If it had not been for me… you wouldn't be here now."

"What do you mean." It came out as a blunt statement.

Setokku laughed. "You are quite amusing to me, princess, you truly are. You may not realize it, but I was the one with whom you shared your first kiss; it was I who asked you to stay here in this palace forever… that fool of a high priest was powerless to stop me, and he was too much of a coward to do any of it on his own."

"He could have done much more had you not done anything! Get out of his mind!" Anji yelled, becoming furious at the spirit and regretful for what she had said to Seto.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that," he murmured darkly, twirling the blade between his fingers. "His mind is my mind. His body is my body… whatever is his is also mine," he finished, his eyes glinting maliciously as he looked down on her.

"I would rather die than belong to a minion of the underworld," Anji said in a hushed tone.

"So be it…" muttered Setokku, tightening his grip on the hilt in his hand. "I have killed plenty of my hikari's slaves in their sleep, and you shall be no different if you do not oblige to my orders."

Anji took a hesitant step back. "Seto will not let you harm me," she shot back, though her voice quivered.

The yami began to laugh insanely, advancing on her. "He can do little more than plead with me for your life! You have made your choice, and I have made mine; if I cannot have you, then no one shall!"

Anji screamed as Setokku's maniacal laughter increased, his arm raising in a swift movement, the cold metal of the blade glinting menacingly. As it came down, the scene suddenly whited out and Kinou felt herself jerked back into her body, Anji's cry of fear flowing from her mouth. She stared wildly around and saw that Seto was still sitting on the couch next to her, laughing cruelly. Her mind shocked her body into doing the only thing she could think of to do.

She ran.


	5. Double Edged

Ah, I'm so happy this story if finally coming underway; I now have a relatively clear view of what I want to happen, and the words are coming to me slowly but surely. I just finished this one, so I hope you all will enjoy it! 'tis a tad short ::grin::

**Chapter 5: Double-Edged**

Buildings flashed by as quickly as her hair whipped about her face, her sides screaming at her to slow her pace down, but she kept at it. Seto's maniacal laughter still resonated in her ears and kept her on her toes. What she saw frightened her to a greater extent than anything she had seen before, and it kept replaying in her head, forcing her to relive it. _The spirit killed Anji, _she thought worriedly as she pushed past a plump fellow reading his daily paper. _And she looked so much like me… and… everyone's been calling me Anji recently… what the hell is—_

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when her body collided with something quite solid, but whatever it was fell backwards as she stumbled to the side and remained standing. She clutched at her shoulder and slightly hunched over, suddenly aware of how little oxygen she had in her lungs. As she gasped for air, she heard a slight groan of pain and she slightly opened an eye to find that she had run into a white-haired someone, but only got that far in identifying who it was. He slowly got up, a hand going to his chest where she had hit him, a half grimace forcing its way out as he shut his eyes. Kinou collapsed to the ground and remained on her back, the world spinning about her.

Some slight coughing reached her ears, but she began to lose her sense of where she was as the dizziness overwhelmed her. The person she hit got up and leaned over her, some of his soft hair brushing against her cheek.

"Hey there," he said in a soft, quiet voice with a hint of an English accent. "Are you—" He suddenly cut off, and with what little consciousness she had left, she saw his face harden and sensed something evil creeping over her. The daylight turned to night, and she thought no more.

* * *

Something was tugging against her neck when she came to grips with her body again. Whatever she was set down upon was very soft and warm, and she didn't want to get up, but whatever was touching her was annoying enough to make her open her eyes. She immediately recognized Ryou beside her, but before he noticed that she was awake, she noticed that he had the same stiff expression on as before, and realized with a start that it was Bakura. He turned his eyes upon her and dropped her golden bird necklace, and his eyes softened as Ryou was forced back into his body to reclaim it. 

"Hello again," he said warmly, his face breaking into a smile. "Forgive me if I frightened you."

"R-Ryou?" Kinou asked, sitting up slightly. She glanced at her surroundings and saw that she was on a couch in a modest little apartment lighted mostly by the sunlight still streaming in.

"Oh, you know my name," he said with a slight laugh. His voice sounded so much sweeter in person, Kinou could hardly believe that it was the same character. "Makes me feel slightly obligated to know yours, if I may ask it of you."

_He seems so much politer, too,_ she thought. "I'm… Kinou," she murmured.

"I'm pleased to meet you."

"Is this where you live?"

"Yes, it is." He gave a somewhat embarrassed grin. "It's not much, but I find it quite comfortable."

"I like small spaces, too, actually." She swung her legs over the side of the couch. "…why did you bring me here?" she asked timidly, hoping she wouldn't sound accusing.

Ryou slightly pursed his lips in thought. "I don't know, really." He blinked and stared hard at the pillow beside her for a moment, shook his head, and looked back at her, smiling again. "You fainted after we ran into each other, and it didn't seem right to just leave you there, especially since my apartment was so close by." He stood up. "You're welcome to stay for some lunch, if you like."

Kinou nodded, and he took only a few steps before he was in the kitchen. "Do you like ham sandwiches?" he asked, leaning over the counter.

"That would be great," she replied, managing a small smile to cover up the slight uneasiness that had arisen in her stomach. She had a feeling that it wasn't Ryou that had brought her back to the living space, and the fact that Bakura was the first one she saw only confirmed her suspicions. Her hand found its way to her necklace, and she wondered why Bakura had been looking at it so intently.

Ryou came back over quickly with the sandwiches on a plate, along with two sodas. Kinou picked up one and peered at it, for the writing was in Japanese, but soon recognized the Pepsi logo and immediately opened it up and took a long drink from it. She gave a satisfied sigh as she took the can away from her lips, realizing how much she had missed the caffeine. The white-haired boy chuckled slightly and started into a sandwich.

After eating for a few minutes in silence, he took a small sip of his soda before putting it back on the small coffee table and gazing at her. She stopped munching on a sandwich and hastily swallowed a bite. "Is there something wrong?"

Ryou shook his head. "I've actually been meaning to ask you… what were you in such a hurry to get away from?"

Kinou paused, wondering how stupid she would sound. "Well… it's actually pretty complicated… erm…" She bit her lip, trying to find a way to put it into words. "You know how… how Seto was the original keeper of the Millennium Rod?"

He nodded and focused all his attention to her.

"And—" She really didn't want to say the next part, as it would make the atmosphere quite awkward if she did. "He—well… erm…" She sighed, realizing that it would have to come out one way or another. "The Rod is a Millennium Item, and… it came with a spirit, as you—undoubtedly—" She sort of gestured with her hand to him.

"I know what you're saying; please go on," he said, nodding solemnly.

"Yes, well… we just went to see Ishizu to ask about it because he has it now, and he's being somewhat possessed by it—"

Ryou's attention had sharpened. "How does he have it now?" His voice was a little stronger, but he still looked like himself and not the spirit.

"Long story short… Marik kinda died a few months ago when Seto and I were there, so now Seto has the Rod, and… yeah," she finished lamely.

"I see. And now that he has it, the spirit of the Rod has started to appear?"

Kinou glanced at Ryou, slightly wondering whether it was him talking anymore. "Yeah, and we just went to see Ishizu, like I said, and we saw a few visions of his past… in the last one, the spirit killed a princess that Seto had been with for a while. Her name was Anji, and a lot of people have been calling me that recently. Actually, the reason we went was because the spirit attacked me, and he had called me Anji… I'm sorry, I'm probably not making much sense," she said, laughing slightly.

"Did you hear the spirit's name?" he asked sternly, making Kinou uneasy with the possibility that Ryou was the one in control of his body, but the spirit was now talking through him.

"Uh, yeah… I think it was Setokku."

"Setokku."

Kinou nodded and shot a glance at the door to the apartment.

"Anji had that necklace, didn't she?" he asked, looking at the little golden bird.

His gaze was making her extremely uncomfortable. "I—I can't remember if she did; the vision was a little vague," she lied, slightly getting up. "I think I should be getting back to Seto—he'll probably be worried about me." There was no way in hell that she was going to see the CEO, but she needed an excuse to get out of there.

Ryou stood up also. "Wasn't he the one you were running away from?" he nearly stated at her. She could see the dark looks of the yami starting to creep over the boy's features, and she took a step towards the door.

"Yeah—he was—but—" She turned quickly to reach for the door, but Bakura was faster and shot his hand out to grasp her arm. The action sent a surge of warm energy through her, and she gasped. His grip faltered and he let go, but in the small moment of their contact, she could have sworn that she saw him dressed in Egyptian garments, a large scar across his right cheek, his skin dyed a light brown, and he had been staring at her, for she was in elegant silk as well—Anji's royal outfit. It had flashed by so fast that it had surprised them a great deal.

Ryou blinked, and both of them were still in the little apartment; he reached out and gently took her hand to keep her from leaving. There was no reaction that time, but Kinou looked back at him with her other hand drawn up to her forehead, still trying to figure out what the hell she had just seen.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I—I didn't mean for that to happen…"

"I'm alright," she said somewhat breathlessly.

"Do you have a place to go?"

"Well—I hadn't really thought about it, but—"

"If you were staying with Kaiba, then you don't, now that you don't want to go back."

"I—I suppose," she said nervously. "But I don't think—"

"Kinou," he interrupted. "I'll offer you a place to stay if you need it; I could easily sleep on the couch—"

"I'm—I'm not sure I'd want to stay here if that could happen—"

He shook his head. "I have him under control most of the time; I'm not trying to force you into anything. I don't know where you'll go if you can't go back."

Once again, Kinou suspected that Bakura was somewhat speaking through Ryou, and worried that if she refused any longer, she might get hurt. "All—all right," she said, swallowing.

His face went softer, and she knew that the yami had gotten what he wanted, leaving Ryou to finish it off. "Just for now," he said, now truly himself. "There is a lock on the bedroom door if he ever—"

"Yeah… thanks," she said, pulling her hand away from him.

"I was originally on my way to the store when we bumped into each other, so I think I'll go finish that errand," he said, drawing his hand back and slightly looking to the side. "You can come, if you want."

"I think I'll… stay here until you get back," she murmured.

"Alright, well, I won't be long. Make yourself at home and help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen," he said, waving a hand slightly at the apartment. Kinou nodded and walked to the bedroom, sitting down on the bed. She watched him leave, and could have sworn that she saw him slightly clutch nervously at his chest, probably where the Ring rested.

As soon as the door shut behind him, she laid back and curled up, hoping that her new home wouldn't somehow become a prison later on.

* * *

Just in case there's any confusion: in this fic, Ryou is the hikari and Bakura is the yami (I don't want to type Yami Bakura every time I mention him ::snickers:: yes, I am a lazy bum). So yeah! Just so that no one's terribly confused about that. I only want you guys to be horribly confused about whether it's Ryou or Bakura talking all the time ::evil laugh:: Hope you guys liked this chapter! 


	6. Nude Bunnies and Children

Heeeeeey! Another chapter done! I barely have any time to write during the week anymore—not much time on the weekends, either, come to think of it. I've been extremely slow with email; I must be driving quite a few people crazy ::grin:: Well, here's the next chapter, and it's kinda scary, despite the title of it (I was going for a little irony, ya know ::shrug:: ).

**Chapter 6: Nude Bunnies and Children**

While Ryou was gone, Kinou merely sat on the bed in deep thought. She tried thinking of happy things to distract herself whenever she got too depressed, and for some odd reason she could only think of an expression one of her friends used to say whenever he was trying to cheer someone up. It always made her laugh, and she found it still somewhat amusing as she attempted to untangle the jumble of thoughts in her mind.

Bakura was still controlling Ryou, that was for sure. _But he said that he could keep him under control… didn't seem that way back there… well, now I'm kinda stuck here until… until… _"Until what?" she wondered aloud.

_Until Seto stops acting like a lunatic? Until Setokku stops controlling him? Until I feel like going back? What!_

She made a noise of frustration and put her head in her hands, realizing that she had come yet again to a familiar point in her thinking; she had been going in circles for quite some time. _Why is life so fucking complicated? Why couldn't I have just let Seto's guard get rid of the Rod? I kinda believe in the whole repeating history thing… but why couldn't this have happened to the next person who's a reincarnation?_

The necklace on her was untied and gazed at in her palm. "Why the hell did I have to be the one to find you, eh?" she said to it. "Are you some seventh Millennium Item or what?" She turned it over to look for some sign of a Millennium Eye, but saw none, and went back to glaring at it. "Item or not, I really don't like that you chose me as your new carrier, Anji. Leave me alone! Yargh!" She squeezed the bird in her hand and shut her eyes, feeling a fresh wave of exasperation threatening to engulf her.

_No, no can't have that happening. _"Nude bunnies!" she shouted.

Her proclamation echoed slightly in the next room, followed shortly by a small fit of giggles. It wasn't as funny as the first time she had ever heard it, but it distracted her for a few moments with the weird mental images it brought to her mind.

"Nude bunnies?"

Kinou jumped at seeing Ryou in the doorway of the bedroom with a mildly puzzled expression. In her fervent thinking she had not heard him come home, and now felt a slight blush rising to her cheeks. "Erm… yeah…" She coughed and looked at the wall.

He came and sat down beside her. "I thought bunnies were nude anyway," he said contemplatively.

"Well… they are, but… I don't know."

"And you just randomly decided to yell that out, then?" he asked.

Kinou nodded. "So!" she said somewhat loudly. "Did you have fun on the errand?"

"Oh, not really," he said with a smile. "I actually got rather lost somehow on the way and forgot why I even left. I suppose I was just thinking too hard."

"Ah."

A silence settled between them, and Kinou shifted a little on the bed, choosing to instead pretend as though her fingernails were interesting enough to look them over. She could feel Ryou's eyes stray to her every now and again, and she began to think that Bakura's were as well. The strange flash of imagery she had seen swam through her mind like a whirlpool and somehow she began to doubt it had even happened. She started again when Ryou shifted also to face her.

"So, where did you get that necklace?" he asked, glancing at it.

"This thing?" Her hand rose up to slightly toy with it, rubbing her thumb over it as she had grown accustomed to doing. "I don't really know, actually. I think my mom got it for me somewhere."

"How long have you had it?"

"At least 3 years, I'd say." She tilted her head. "Why?"

He straightened up slightly. "It's just very nice; now I know how other people felt when they kept asking me about my Millennium Ring," he said with a slight laugh.

"I see." She clenched her fist around it inadvertently. "This isn't quite as interesting, though; I mean come on… it's a little pipsqueak of a bird and I'm not even sure if it's real metal or if it's cheap stuff with paint on the surface—"

"It's gold."

She blinked at him. "…yeah," she said slowly. She was again feeling the need to get away from him, as he was definitely giving her a weird feeling that she didn't like at all. "I… think I should go out for a short walk."

"Why?" The question was sharply shot at her.

"Well, you know, the whole thing with Seto and… the spirit…thing…" She trailed off, getting up off the bed.

"I don't think you should leave," Ryou nearly growled, standing up as well.

"Why not?"

"It's not safe out there. Besides, don't you want to stay here and try to find more about Setokku before you go back to face him?"

Kinou was surprised that he remembered the spirit's name, and he also spoke it with a strange accent, as Seto had in the vision. She tried to keep her voice steady. "Walks tend to clear my head and… if it's all blocked up like it is now, there's no way I can even start to try and figure anything out."

"You don't need to clear an already thoughtless head," he said, taking a step towards her. "I, however, know far more about the spirit of the Millennium Rod than any one else, almost more than he may know about himself. All I need is a link to him in the past."

Kinou backed up slightly and felt her back touch the wall behind her. "W-Well I don't know how you'd—"

"You are the reincarnation of Princess Anji," he cut her off harshly. "She wore that same necklace; I know because I stole it and was nearly sentenced to death by the high priest himself because he was so infatuated with that wench. I was nearly sentenced to death by a betrayer, and a foolish one at that! You are a way for me to study that spirit and harness the source of his power…" He slowly reached out his hand. "You will be the key to my revenge for what that fool put me through."

"Don't—I—I don't—" Kinou stuttered, flattening herself against the wall.

"You think you have a choice in the matter?" he sneered. "You couldn't defend your way out of a paper bag, let alone out of my reach." His hand shot out and caught her roughly by the arm, and she cried out as a fresh wave of energy surged through her.

A bright light blinded her senseless, and she felt a strong pull, though she could not tell what it was. Shouts reached her ears—shouts for help coming from a young child. The voice was shouting for someone, anyone, that would come to help; all the while a second child was screaming out in pain. A scene also flooded by light began to emerge, but as it did so, Kinou could have sworn that her soul was being torn from her body; she cried out loudly as well and forced herself to sense her real body. She practically flailed her arm and felt her fist collide with something solid—as soon as the grip faltered the screaming of the children halted, and she stumbled blindly sideways as Bakura brought a hand to his cheek, grimacing.

Before she knew what she was doing, she ran out of the bedroom and shut the door behind her. Not seeing a lock, she threw herself against it to hold it as the enraged yami gave a yell of anguish and rammed it, nearly throwing her off with its force. Pounding soon followed, and Kinou flinched each time the door was struck, praying that it wouldn't break into pieces before she could think of a way to help herself. She stood for what seemed like an eternity against the wooden barrier before the spirit of the Ring calmed down and stopped his barrage.

"Ki-nou," came a voice disguised with a soft tone that parents frequently used on their children. It sent fear bolting into her stomach. "I'm not angry with you, I just want to talk about the spirit. If you let me out I might tell you why I feel the need to find out about him." He spoke as though to a frightened animal to coax it before its slaughter, and Kinou kept a hand firmly latched onto the doorknob, getting down on one of her knees to rest her legs and keeping her shoulder firmly planted against the door.

"Really, I won't hurt you. Just let me out and we can talk like civilized people; just trust me." Kinou couldn't find her voice, but there was no way she was about to let him through to her. When he didn't hear a response, he kicked the door hard again; Kinou yelped. "Let me out, Kinou! You're only making things worse for yourself! You're a dead fool if you think that this will be your way out of here!"

She shut her eyes as he slammed his fists into the door a few times, though his words made her realize what a hole she had dug herself into. Glancing around the apartment, she saw the front door, but it was locked, and there would be no way to reach it and get through before she was caught. A faint noise emanated from the room, and Kinou was surprised to hear an extremely weak voice.

"Whoa… where am I?" A slight shuffling of feet and a jiggle of the doorknob—her hand still clenched it and prevented it from turning. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

_Is that Ryou? _she wondered, furrowing her brow.

"Hello?" he called out a little louder. "Kinou? Are you here? Can you let me out? The door's stuck or something. Can you hear me?" Kinou kept her mouth shut. "Kinou! Help me! Please! Open the door!"

She drew her mouth in a straight line. _Ryou wouldn't know whether I'm here or not… that's Bakura still._

"Hey, Kinou! Did something happen while I was out? Hello! You don't need to worry; the spirit went into his soulroom or something; it's only me!" Silence for a few moments. "Kinou…"

She heard some harshness creeping its way back into his voice as he realized she wasn't going to let him out, and her eyes skimmed the apartment again, instead looking for a phone. Who she would call, she had no idea, but she looked anyway; one was on the counter of the kitchen, about six feet from her.

"I don't know what you hope to accomplish with this," he growled at her. "You really can't do anything, you foolish girl. You've put us in a stalemate."

She slightly held out her arm towards the phone, but it was out of her reach by a few feet. Even if she stood up, she wouldn't be able to get to it without stepping mostly away from the door, and her foot alone would not be able to keep the yami at bay.

"Ki-nou…" His tone switched slightly to amusement, her name rolling off his tongue in mockery, his voice dropping. "Let me out, Kinou… you can't do anything now except hope that I give up. Pretty far-fetched… why don't you think of nude bunnies or something to calm yourself down and think straight?"

She bared her teeth, tears of fright starting to fall from her eyes as she tried to again stretch to the phone in vain, her fingertips not even coming close to grazing the counter upon which it sat.

"…you have to sleep sometime, Kinou."

Her motion froze as his statement reached her, settling in the pit of her stomach to twist it into a gnarl. She heard the creaking of a bed and realized that he was going to wait as long as he needed to for her to let him out. Her arm came back slowly, and she buried her face in her hands as she started to cry to herself. The belligerent spirit's laughter at her from within his temporary prison made her dread the next time she would see him.


	7. New Toys

Oi! Next chapter is heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere! ::grins maliciously:: I have been thinking this plot through over and over and over again, and have planned quite a few interesting twists and turns and loop-de-loops in the story revolving around Setokku . I hope you all enjoy this chapter; 'tis a bit long and required some research on my part ::eyes threatening to droop shut:: 'twas a little more work than I thought it'd take.

**Chapter 7: New Toys**

Humming. Incessant humming. It was all that Kinou heard over the next few hours as she sat against the door, hugging her knees to herself. The sun was starting to set, casting an eerie glow over the apartment and its contents. The phone still stood upon the counter and out of reach, casting a long shadow over her face, like a monolith—she wanted so badly to get to it but feared to, and she instead remained still, having given up hope long before.

_Why the hell am I doing this? _she wondered to herself. _He'll get out eventually… he'll either break the door down or just wait for me to fall asleep and then… _

She shivered slightly and pushed the thought out of her mind. There was nothing she could do to dig herself out of the pit in which she was stuck, but she didn't want to let Bakura out all the same. She would sit for as long as she needed to.

_I'll stay until I fall asleep or something… he wouldn't do anything to me if I fell asleep… would he? Why would he care? He'd probably shake me awake and try to get some more images out of me or some crap like that. What if he doesn't?_

_What if he's some psychotic—well, he is psychotic either way—molester or something? He was a thief after all, why not the complete package that accompanies it? Raping and pillaging, those two always seem to come together—I can't fall asleep now! _

_Ok, ok, calm down. He's not a pillager… he was a thief, now he's just some random evil spirit trapped inside a gold ring… besides, raping and pillaging are spoils of war, and we're not exactly in a war here… but wait, aren't we? I can't exactly get out and I've barricaded him in there—stop, stop, stop!_

She smacked a palm into her forehead. _He is _not_ going to do anything like that. I'm getting myself worked up over nothing, nothing! He's only interested in finding out about the spirit of the Rod. Hey…_

Her eyes opened again. _There's something else to think about to keep myself awake—why the hell is he so interested in Setokku anyway? It's not like he needs to know anything more; he told me himself that he knows more about the spirit than anyone else. He wants to find out more because he wants to… to harness his power? For what?_

_He called Seto a betrayer… and seemed pretty resentful when he mentioned almost being sentenced to death by him… maybe he was framed or something? Maybe he and Seto planned something to get into power and Bakura got screwed on his end of the deal… yeah, that makes sense._

_I really should stop thinking. Why don't I just ask him?_

Silence rose in her mind. _…ask him? What the hell kind of idea is that?_

_One that'll maybe make him open up to me… or something._

_"Open up to me"? God, how stupid can one thing sound? 'Hey Bakura, tell me, were you wrongly accused in Egypt and that's why you became an outcast tomb robber?' _She nearly felt like laughing. _Yeah, that'll make him open up to me. Great plan._

"Bakura?" His name tumbled out of her mouth before she could think twice and restrain it. 

The humming stopped.

"Why do you control and scare Ryou like you do?" _What the hell… where did that come from?_

Silence was the response to her random inquiry, and she closed her eyes, hoping that Bakura had somehow not heard it. Her eyes fluttered closed as she kept her mind from thinking anymore; it was proving to be exhausting. The mysterious Middle Eastern tunes did not begin to flow out of the room again, but after a while, she could have sworn that she heard a small whisper.

"…because it's fun."

* * *

Darkness enveloped her as she strode down a long, dark blue pathway, random bursts of cold wind baffling her hair this way and that as she plodded through the mushy ground. A random garden gnome suddenly appeared in front of her and told her to make two very special colors be friends again, and she agreed, accepting a pair of scissors he handed her. She was supposed to do something with them, but the gnome was blown away by a particularly large gust of wind before he could explain. Kinou clutched the scissors to her chest, knowing that the two colors would be saved by her somehow, and that the magical dodo bird would reward her greatly when she did. In some odd way, it all made sense to her. She felt a slight pressure on her forehead and realized that she had somehow pressed a Millennium Eye into it, the pair of scissors long gone on a journey of their own. She poked slightly at the glowing thing now on her forehead, and slowly felt her vision become clearer. Her body leaned forward slightly and was suddenly thrown back, bumping into something quite solid with a loud slam—her eyes snapped open to see Bakura directly in front of her with his hands drawing away from her shoulders, having just woken her up by hitting her against the door he had opened and come out of.

He stood up to look down at her, mock respect etched into his words. "Sorry to disturb you, Anji, but it seems we can only get visions of the past when both of us are awake."

Kinou, still not over the shock that she had fallen asleep so easily, merely stared up at him.

The spirit chuckled darkly, matching the color of the apartment now that it was nighttime. His white-blonde hair seemed to shimmer slightly in the lighting coming in from the balcony, but it only brought a sharp contrast to his eyes, which were so foreboding that Kinou was having a difficult time staring into them. It all drew her eyes to his mouth, which was twisting into an amused smirk at the cowering girl. If his teeth were sharp, he could have easily faked a vampire.

"What's wrong?" He crouched to be at her eye level again, tilting his head slightly to the side.

She swallowed and flinched as he softly brought his hand up to her face, stopping it right before it touched her. He smirked even more broadly as he watched her follow his slender fingers with her eyes as they came mere centimeters away from her skin, teasing her with every minute movement.

"What's a little peek at the past?" he asked, quite intrigued by how she reacted to him. "You get to look at what you used to be, which was something rather goddess like and appealing if I do say so myself…"

"Stop it," pleaded Kinou, pressing herself as close as possible to the wall behind her and away from his outstretched hand.

"If you have an easier and more amusing way to get a look at the past, by all means, share it." When she did not answer him, he snickered. "You know, you look so delicious when you're afraid… it's a real pity that I can't touch you without being distracted by something far more important." He continued to move his hands around her, and she finally broke under the overwhelming terror that had gripped her by the throat.

"Please, leave me alone," she barely choked out. "I'll—I'll willingly let you see the past if—if you stop." She held out her hand slightly, keeping the rest of her body as it was.

"I don't do conditions," he suddenly said in a harsh tone, and his hand snapped to hers and grasped it in a strong vice. She gasped partially out of surprise at the rash act, and partially because of the sensation that surged through her body at his touch. A tunnel of wind surrounded her and the spirit, and she could barely hear her cries of fright as she once again felt as though her soul were being torn away from her body. Her yells were quickly halted, however, when she heard a noise that was quite unlike that which she had heard in the first vision they had shared—laughter. A grimace forced itself out as she felt herself completely separate, from what she didn't quite know, but she was trying much harder to focus her ears upon the giggles of mirth. The scene that reached her eyes as the light and wind cleared was almost as confusing to her as the last.

Two young children, perhaps about 9 years old, were seated across a small table from each other. They were both red in the face and still trying their hardest to suppress any mirth that they might have had left. One had a soft brown as his hair color, the other a shining ebony, much like that of the plump, infuriated man that suddenly burst into the room, panting. He started shouting at the boys in another language, but Kinou could somehow understand him as though he were speaking English.

"I've got you two now! You've stolen from me for the last time!" he shouted, practically drenching the boys with the spit flying from his mouth in his rage.

"Stolen?" asked the brown-haired boy, turning his light blue eyes up to look at him whilst keeping his face completely straight. "Dear professor, why would we do something like that?"

"Don't try that with me, you snotty little troublemaker!" He thrust a finger out at him. "I know you just took something from me, and I'm not leaving here without it!"

The boy looked at his companion and then back up at the man, faking innocence quite well. "I have been here studying with Makbura, Apophis," he said politely, gesturing to a small piece of parchment. "What is it that you're missing?"

"Eh—" He froze, merely staring at him. "I—I know what you took, just give it to me before I go and tell your mother!"

"I don't know what you mean," the boy said, shaking his head. "If you'd like some help looking for it, Makbura and I would be glad to offer our assistance. We just need to know what to look for."

Apophis bared his teeth. "I know you two took something from me, and you can't hide your guilt anymore than that papyrus can suddenly disappear," he growled. "Now you'd better—"

"Pardon me, is there something wrong?"

A short, slender woman entered the room behind the blustering man, and he turned quickly and bowed down on a knee before her. "A-Anippe, my lady; pardon my intrusion. It was rude of me and disrespectful."

She slightly tilted her head, the fancy jewelry draped about her jingling slightly. "May I ask what you are doing here? Is my boy not keeping up in your studies?"

"N-no my lady. He and his friend there have just taken something from me and are feigning ignorance of it."

Her light purple eyes fell upon the blue ones of her son. "Is this true?" she asked softly.

He shook his head. "No, mother," he said simply.

"Do you swear on your father's tomb and his afterlife in the underworld?" said quite seriously, her eyes boring into his.

"I will swear on the very god Anubis if you wish me to clear any false guilt."

She looked back at Apophis, who was still kneeling, but obviously trying not to burst out. "He has not taken anything from you. You do know that he looks up to you as a scholar, and he has no reason to steal from one whom he idolizes. Perhaps you just misplaced what you claim was taken. What's missing?"

He kept his head down and his eyes averted to the floor. "Well… nothing in particular, my lady… I just heard noises in my potions chamber and swore that I saw these two running out." He looked up at her. "I'm certain it was them," he said fervently.

"Yet you don't know what you are missing, dear professor. Please do not accuse my child of stealing; our family has always been kind to you, and you to us, especially after my husband passed on. There should be no mistrust between anyone. Please stand."

He did so, and she gently took him by the hand and led him out, which looked rather strange, as they were total opposites in shape and height. "Set, you may go out to play with Makbura if you want. Be back before the sun touches the tops of the pyramids." With that, she walked Apophis out.

The two boys looked at each other and ran out through the other doorway, Set clutching a brown cloth bag. They didn't stop until they reached the end of the sanded road, where a small mill stood. Laughter once again emitted from the two, and they collapsed into heaps behind the wall, shielded from the sun. Sitting up, Set shook his head slightly to get the sand out of it, Makbura doing the same. They sat up and leaned their backs against the stone, Set gently making sure he didn't get his elegant garbs and beaded sandals too dirty, while Makbura dug his bare feet into the sand and tied a short, ragged belt a little tighter around his waist.

"So what did ya manage to nab?" the black-haired boy asked eagerly, leaning over as Set opened up the bag between them.

"I don't know, actually." He plunged his hand into the depths of the cloth and drew out a palm-sized ankh made of green feldspar and frowned slightly. "Ah that won't get much," he muttered. It was dropped carelessly into the sand and picked up by Makbura as Set rummaged around a little more. A silver vulture was next in line, engraved with words to chant and protect Upper Egypt, a little bigger than the ankh.

"Hey, Nekhbet!" said Makbura excitedly, snatching it out of Set's hands. "The cobra-loving people down south'll like this one. Anything else?"

"I think there's one more," he said. As he pulled his hand out again, he slowly opened it up to reveal the last item—a red heart amulet no bigger than the top digit of his thumb. His eyes went wide as he saw it, and Makbura peered at it as well.

"Whoa… you don't see an AB that often anymore…" he whispered.

"This will sell for enough to sustain you and your family for at least a fortnight," Set said, not having taken his eyes off the acorn-shaped stone.

"But… you've wanted one of those for a really long time, haven't you?"

"I have, but you need—"

Makbura cut him off with a fervent shake of his head. "Naah, I don't need it. This Nekhbet will sell for a lot," he said, slightly brandishing it.

"This will sell for more," Set said, finally looking at his friend and holding it out.

"I don't want it, alright? Just keep the darn thing," he said sternly. "And this too." He picked up the ankh and put it in Set's hand. "It's a worthless piece of crap, so you can have it."

They grinned at each other and laughed slightly. Holding up his two new possessions, Set murmured somewhat to himself. "The symbol of life…" His eyes turned to the red amulet. "…and something to preserve my soul. How foolish."

The boys burst out laughing again, and the image of them began to swirl and mix. Kinou suddenly became aware again of Bakura's grip on her arm, but it had softened slightly. As she felt herself appear in the apartment, she could barely see. It was now deeper into the night and pitch-black, and her eyes had been well-adjusted to the bright sunlight of the vision. The hand on her arm dropped off, but she remained still, oddly frightened by the sudden change in atmosphere. No sound came from the other in the room for what seemed a long time, and she warily shifted her weight.

"…B-Bakura?" she asked softly.

Her ears picked up some soft chuckling, and it sent shivers down her spine. "Yes, Kinou, I haven't disappeared yet. I'm going to sleep and suggest you do the same." With that, she heard his body slump over with a muffled thud on the hardwood floor, quickly followed by a startled yelp.

Now able to see somewhat in the dark, Kinou squinted slightly to see his form rise up again slightly and clutch at its head. "Whoa… where am I?"

Kinou remained silent, and he turned his eyes upon her—even in the dark she could see a softer quality about them. "Kinou? Why are we on the floor?"

"Ryou?" she asked apprehensively, still unable to discern too well when he was in control and when he was not.

"I believe so, unless we traveled to another dimension or something," he said, laughing softly. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… I think I'm ok."

"Good heavens it's dark," he said, turning to face the glass door of the patio. "That means we must have skipped dinner. Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Not really."

"Well I know I am. If you want any, just let me know." He stood up and stretched, walking into the kitchen, Kinou remaining on the floor. As Ryou began to rummage through the cupboards, Kinou curled up slightly and rested her chin on her knees, trying to discern what she had just seen and how it related to the spirit of the Rod. She decided a few minutes later that Ryou's cooking was too much to ignore, and went to sit with him on the couch to eat, quietly reminding herself to keep herself wary in case the yami tried to catch her off-guard again.


	8. Reincarnations Collide

Moo!! I finally got this chapter out! Yes! -punches the air- I'm glad I did... I had this done on Sunday, but Noooooooooooooooooooo..... Ff .net decided to do an update! Gargh! So, here I am at school, on a Tuesday, hoping that this'll work considering it's so soon after the update. We can hope! I won't be able to update anything next week unless I manage to get another chapter in one of my stories done by this Thursday, which is somewhat possible. I'm going to Hollywood with my school's marching band! Friday till Tuesday. Yep. I will probably post the next chapter of Passing the Time on Thursday if the stupid floppy I'm using decides to cooperate. -grumbles- I might have to rewrite a few pages if they're lost for good. And all of you should go and read Hacker's World! The eyes command you! -points- I I I I. They command you! Anyway, onwards!

**Chapter 8**

The meal was eaten mostly in silence, occasionally broken by a few requests and offers for food or drinks that were out of reach. Kinou could sense that Ryou was just Ryou, but she still sat somewhat rigidly on the couch. They both seemed to be trying to drag the eating time out as long as they could so that they wouldn't be sitting around awkwardly with nothing to do. It did end after a while, however, and the apartment was still quiet with the occasional squirrel scurrying across the roof of the building. Ryou took in a breath.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked softly, not looking at her.

Kinou slightly turned her head to him and paused before answering. "...not really. He just scared me, that's all."

"What did he do?"

"Well... he woke me up and then... we just took another look at the past," she replied with a laugh.

Ryou faced her suddenly, his eyes somewhat glassy. "Kinou, I'm so sorry," he blurted out almost pleadingly. "I told you I could keep him under control, but--but--"

"Ryou, it's fine," said Kinou, leaning forward, slightly surprised. "All he wants is to see the past and it doesn't hurt me--"

"It frightens you!" he interjected. "He frightens everyone around me! I can't help anyone because he hurts them, and I can't do a damn thing about it!"

His shouts died out, leaving an emptiness in their wake, Kinou unsure as to what to say to him. She hesitantly reached out a hand to place on his shoulder.

"Don't." He turned sharply away from her. "You shouldn't have stayed here, Kinou. You should have not listened to me."

"Ryou, I don't blame you for wanting to give me a place to stay--" Kinou began.

"I'm not saying you do!" he snapped, putting his face in his hands. "...you need to leave before something else happens. Go."

"I--"

"Go!" he cried, his hands starting to shake, his mouth twisting into a grimace. "No... no... I won't let you..." he said under his breath, more to himself. "I won't let you out..."

Kinou sat frozen to her seat, but ready to bolt. "Ryou, I can stay here and help you; if you're alone with him--"

"Y-you can't... no one can help..." He clenched his fists, baring his teeth even more; his eyes were still squeezed shut. "...get out now... I-I can't--" He flinched and tears started to stream down his face, the shakiness in his hands starting to spread through his whole body.

Kinou suddenly realized that he was trying to hold Bakura back until she got out. From the way he was reacting, however, she didn't want to leave him all alone to his darker half's wrath. Before she had any time to debate it, Ryou lurched forward and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"For the love of God get out of here!" he yelled, looking more terrified than she could have ever imagined. She ran toward the door, fumbling slightly with the doorknob before she could open it, Ryou's groans from his inner struggle following her as she rushed into the hallway. In her panic she realized that she had not seen how to get in and out of the building and frantically turned about, her eyes searching for the exit. Her short breaths were the only noise apart from that which was still emanating from Ryou's room; she finally found a door with a stairwell sign and continued through it, her shoes pounding rather heavily on the concrete. In her haste she nearly missed the first floor, only realizing that she had passed it when she took a few steps down into the cold basement; she turned back to burst from the building, tripping slightly over the stairs down to the sidewalk.

She groaned loudly, hunching over and clutching at her sides, remembering the last time she had run at such speeds. _Seems like I can only do it when my life's in danger,_ she thought harshly as she remembered the Rare Hunters that had been on her heels the preceding time. Before her breathing could slow down, a voice awakened in the back of her mind.

_Keep running; you're not safe yet. _

_Goddamnit! Kinou yelled at herself. I don't need to talk to myself at a time like this! _

_You do, if you want to stay alive,_ it said.

_Since when have you come in handy in this kind of situation! You're only useful when I'm trying to decide if I want cream cheese!_

Her busy thoughts were interrupted when a rather loud and anguished yell erupted from the top of the apartment building; Kinou straightened up and gave a frightened gaze up to it, and her legs began to move without her even thinking about it. As she sped down the darkened street, her vision became blurry, her sense of direction fogged, but something was drawing her onward. She had to get... somewhere. Somewhere close there was something she needed to reach.

_Keep running, keep running, keep running, keep running..._

"Oof!"

The ground rushed up to meet her as she rammed into something and tripped over it to collapse on the other side. It gave a startled yelp and also fell over, though a lot harder than she did. She had tripped over a person.

_Tripped...? _

She slightly raised her head, squinting an eye against the bright street lamps, and only saw a large feather duster near her foot, but whoever it was wasn't in sight. Shutting her eyes again, she rolled onto her back and clutched at the arm upon which she had fallen, and again heard a little bit of noise from the other person.

"H-hey, are you alright?"

Opening her eyes again, she squeaked when she saw a large pair of violet eyes staring down at her. She sat up again and put a hand to her head, realizing that the feather duster had in fact been the hair of none other than Yugi Moto.

"Whoa, it's ok, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said, leaning forward slightly and putting a hand out. "Are you alright?" he asked again.

She quirked an eyebrow, not really believing he happened to be the person fate decided to run her into in her flee.

"Hm? Something the matter?"

"Ah--n-no, I'm sorry, I just--"

"Ki-nou..."

The girl froze as the cold voice washed over her, and her eyes looked up to see Bakura standing over her and Yugi, a cruel smile playing across his lips. "You seem to have an unnatural talent of finding people by running into them; are you going to pass out again this time?"

"Bakura!" Yugi said happily, standing up and smiling. "Why are you out so late?" Oblivious to the fact that the spirit was the one speaking, he reached out and clapped him on the shoulder.

Snarling, Bakura grabbed the boy's hand and threw him away from himself. "Do not touch me, Yugi. This doesn't concern you."

"Bakura, what--" He suddenly straightened up, his eyes going wide. "You're the spirit of the ring!"

"Ts." He turned his head to the side. "I'm surprised the all-mighty pharaoh isn't on my ass by now; get out of here, will you?"

Getting shakily to her feet, Kinou took a slight step back. Yugi stepped forward bravely. "Why don't you get out of my friend's mind instead? What did he ever--" He was cut off as Bakura roughly shoved him to the side into the wall of the building next to them; he slammed into it with a loud grunt and slid to the ground, coughing because of how hard he hit it. The spirit turned to Kinou again and came towards her.

"B-Bakura, what did you do to--"

"My hikari?" he finished for her. "Nothing really. Let's just say he's locked away in my soulroom at the moment; I'm sure he'll make friends with all of the mutilated animals and monsters in there," he said with a twisted smile.

"You're sick," Kinou hissed. "Let him out." Her hands were balling into fists, her anger reaching a peak right away.

Bakura laughed at her. "What, you want to fight me now? How stupid. This would all be a lot easier if you would just come back with me now. If you're unconscious, you're of no use to me."

"You'll be the one who's unconscious!" she yelled. "You think that just because you're some whacked out old spirit, you can go around hurting Ryou over and over again without anyone getting pissed off enough about it to kick your ass?"

"Why, yes."

Growling, Kinou advanced a step, but jumped as a slight golden glow emanated from her right. As the light slightly diminished, Kinou realized that she had completely forgotten that Yugi was there; he stood up again, slightly taller than before and glared at Bakura.

"I don't know what you think you can do, but I know I can stop you from it," he growled in his deepened voice; something tweaked in the back of Kinou's mind, but she couldn't tell what it was, so she ignored it.

"How? Are you going to challenge me to a shadow duel?" sneered the spirit. "I have no time for you, pharaoh; this is between me and the girl."

Yami turned his eyes to her and froze for a moment, his eyes trailing down to the bird charm around her neck. His gaze only lasted for a second, but he faced Bakura again, moving slightly in front of her. "You have no right to abuse anyone, Bakura. If she's just a random girl you met in the street, all the more reason for you to leave her alone."

The spirit gave a hearty laugh. "You know, I will never tire of this 'all-righteous' crap; get out of here before I seal you away in the foolish child's game around your neck."

"You know just as well as I do that you can't do that."

Bakura growled. "Perhaps not as easily as you would think, but I know what I can do now!" The golden ring around his neck suddenly brightened and shot out a beam of light at the pharaoh.

Kinou cried out and threw her hands in front of her to shield herself, but Yami reacted just as quickly as his Millennium Puzzle exploded back with a radiant energy, hitting Bakura's midway. Kinou straightened up hesitantly, immediately feeling a strange sensation in the back of her mind again as the sidewalk was illuminated around the two ancient spirits. She began to feel dizzy, but her eyes somehow kept themselves focused on Yami; she felt a pang of worry leap into her stomach as she saw him breaking into a sweat, clenching his fists as he fought Bakura's power. Bakura was tiring as well, though not as quickly.

Taking a step to the side, her balance started wavering; something in her mind was keeping her from losing sight of Yami. The light suddenly surged brighter, and Yami stumbled back a few steps, just barely managing to hold Bakura at bay. Something snapped in Kinou.

"Atem!" she cried, her vision suddenly clear. Without thinking, the necklace around her neck shined out and her hands rose up in front of her, reaching out for the pharaoh. She got a hold on his shoulders and immediately a stream of energy flowed from herself.

Yami flinched, but did not look at her as the light from the puzzle became much stronger; Kinou gave an enraged yell and shut her eyes--the light flew towards Bakura and knocked him off his feet. Letting go of Yami, Kinou's legs began to shake so much that she collapsed onto her hands and knees, panting. She suddenly felt ill; her head was throbbing and her stomach was in turmoil. With a giant lurch, she hurled onto the sidewalk, coughing and choking as acid burned the back of her throat.

When she looked back up, she glimpsed Bakura running off into the darkness; Yami came over to her and knelt down beside her, gently placing a hand on her back. "Are you all right?" Kinou clutched at her necklace, wiping the last of the previous meal from her mouth.

As her eyes turned to his, she felt the little twinge in the back of her mind again, and watched as his lips opened again.

"...Anji?"


End file.
